| Show effit all ma seq by WILLIAM macharg EDWIN BALMER copyright by little drown brown and company CHAPTER continued 16 1 6 she told tot him beginning with tier discovery of katon eaton in tile tho garage and ending with ills its leaving tier find with donald averys aversa finding tier her lit in lio lie motor and now silo held hack back ono one word only lits ills name mime which vl illi lie had told tier lier hugh iler her father listened intently you and mr air boiton to have rather well acquainted liar ilar riet lie ald said has lie ho told you tilt nothing about himself which you have not told mu me you have seen nothing concerning him which you have not told 7 iler her mind went quickly back to the polo gamo game slip bile felt a flush which ills blind eyes could not see dyeing her checks find and forehead tho the blind man mail waited for a moment lie put out hn hla hand mid and pressed the boll bell which called the ste steinard ivard neither spoke until the stoward steward came fairley Sant olne said then quietly 11 miss Sant olno and I 1 have just agreed that for tilt the nil fill reports regarding tile pursuit of tile the men who entered tile study dinst night are to ho be anade direct to tile nie not through llosa San toino or mr avery very well sir mr she still sat silent after the steward lind had rono gone she tho tight for tin nn instent her father lind tin forgotten tier her presence then th n lie moved moed slightly 1 that Is nil all dear lie he said quietly site got up ill and left him and went to her own rooms tile did not pretend to herself that silo could rest she bathed find dressed and went downstairs tho the library lind find windows facing to the west silo sho went lit in there and stood looking out iler her mind ans upon only one tiling thing even of that site could not think con coir somo some years ago something she did not know lind had hill happened to hugh tonight in some way unknown to tier her it had culminated in tier her fathers study ile iio hod find someone lie ho had rushed awny to follow someone whom find lie ho heard that someone in the study and gone down lind ind he been fighting thear hattle brittle her and here slie site knew that was wa not so thigh hugh hall had been fully dreiser drei sed what lid fill it mean that lio lie hall had sat said to 0 o tier lier vint these events would either destroy him filin or would send him hack back to tier her na fis ris something different iler her thought supplied no fin nimer answer lilt hut whatever lie find done whatever he might he be she knew tits hla fato fate waa hers now for slie site had given herself to him utterly site she had told that t to herself as she lie led and pursued with ith film that night silo had told aitto I 1 him she bho later hall had told it though Iliad not meant to yet to tier father ither fi she elie could only pray now that out of tho the events of tins this night might not conic come n grief to tier her too groat grat for her to boar bear site she went to the rooms that had been batons En Ea tona tons the police lit in stripping them of his possessions find overlooked ills his cap site elu found tho bit of gray cloth find and hugged it to her she whispered his fits name to herself hugh that secret of tits his nnnie which she hat had kept silo she gloried that she hall had that secret with hini him which silo she could keep front from them nil fill what they give just to share that with her nia his name highl she suddenly looking through the window the east above the lake was beginning to grow gray the tha down dawn was coming it was beginning to ile be day danyl I 1 she hurried to the other side of the house looking toward tile the west ilow how could slie she have left him hurt find bleeding and alone in the night I 1 she could not have done tant but that tits hla asking her to go had told that it was for his bis safety as well as hers hera she could not cot help him any more then she eho would only have been in the way inlay but now sho she started to rush out but controlled herself she had to stay in the house that was where the first word would come if they caught him end and then lie he would need tier her liow how much morel the reporters on the lawn below her seeing tier her at the window called up to tier her to know further particulars ot of what luid had happened and what tile the murder meant she bhe could see them plainly in the increasing light site she could see the lawn and the road before the house day had conic come and with the coming of day the uncertainty uncertainly and disorder within and about tile the hou house seemed to increase hut but in the south wing whig with its itel soundproof sound bou rid proof doors and its windows closed against tile tho noises from the lawn there was silence and in this tt lence Ue en an exact compelling methodic machine was working the mind ot of dealt basil San Sant totne olne was striving vainly as aa yet but with growing chances of success to fit together into tho the order in which they belonged and make clear tho the events of the night and all that had gone before arranging ordering testing discarding picking up again and reordering all that had happened rince that other murder of gabriel Ward rau CHAPTER what one can do without eyes eye three men ut fat least three men fought in the study in San presence gaton baton it was certain hud had been the only one from tho the house present when the first shots had eaton been alono alone against the cost two alad baton been with one of the other two against tho the third jt it appeared probable to Sunt olne that baton had been ilone alone or hall conic come clone to the study aoudy and had met t lilt ills oclides there Stint olne felt that the probabilities were that eamons enemies find opened tilt alio gate lintl hall been surprised by eaton nut but it they had opened the safe they not only antona enemies they were also San they were re tho ali men who threatened sane kolnos lies trust those alin io choin union had fought foucht in tho room lind had halt perfect opportunity for killing Sant olne tf if they wished daft Hant olne felt certain no ono one had 11 I 1 it anny n y mine k upon him nt at any moment in tho the room ho he had had no feeling nt at fifty instant vint any of the shots fired had been directed it lit t film Il latchford too hat been until anilo ale it plain that lio I 1 and j ono 0 of the indru lers dors tit lit Ilat cliford could call tile ibsen been shot down it i that IN alint fint had P r 1 ns his blindness it lie lin if lie he lind had been able to 0 ize ilze tho the nion men in tile lie rooi 01 to its were turned on n jio he m n shot down 11 cognized that till this did fc for tits tin lin in unity fore nn an nt at tuck tack anvid pt t for B enton anton lin lind t barn tr ne instead stend In and no f fu g ainest 1 anton aton h lind a d been 1 hall had become agn pub publicly clely olno oble was not going to tl ines death would have toils oils lentil two weeks 1 b a 1 San tollie now s slon ion of the 1 contents of sj accomplish tile same ill thai lines ios tenth donth or moro more titan hla fits ir r these men por what men it ans not lot S a certain cert batons presence t study which lind had so BO astounded Blatch fjord Wr whillace illace and enton aniton lind had pasted days together find Il latchford was acau 8 t onel i to en P a tolls presence in the house aliouse someone whom knew and whose encio Sant olno also would know find whose presence in the room ans so inge and that dentch ford had tried to prepare Sant olne for mhd announcement had bad been there tile tho titan ronn whose namo was on match fords ton g taie ue or the of that lint map find shot rattler than lot let lie henr a r tilt tho n annio a nw ile ho woo bo bc binning to find events fit themselves together but they fitted imperfectly ns no yet I 1 Sant olne knew tent lie he lacked inched tho the key many men inen could profit by pos peg tho contents I 1 of San safe till and might have shot Il in atchford latchford rattler than let Sant olno know their presence thero there it was impossible for Sant olne to toll tell which alch among these jnnny the ann who bad been in the study might bo be who eamons enemies were was equally unknown to S olne hut but there could bo be but one man ann or nt at most one small group of inell who mho could lie be nt at the lie same time antons enemy and San to have known who enton eaton was would have pointed this man to Sant olne gabriel warden find hall had nn an appointment with a young man who had conio come from asia and who warden had told tits ills wife he had discovered lately had bad been greatly wronged enton under conductor Con nerys questioning hail admitted himself to bo be that young man Sant olne had verified this and hall had learned that enton eaton was at least the young man who had gone to wardens house that night hut but gabriel warden had not been allowed to help E eaton aton so far front from that lio lie had not even been allowed to meet find and talk with enton eaton ho he had been called out plainly to prevent his bla meeting eaton find and killed faton eaton disappeared and concealed himself at once after wardens murder apparently fearing that ho he would also be attacked but eaton was not a man whom this personal fear would have hake restrained from coming forward later to tell why warden hod find been killed lie ile had find been urged to como come forward find and promised that others would rive give him help in wardens place still ha had concealed himself this must menn mean that others than warden could not help hell eaton eaton evidently did ill not hano know or else could not hope to prove what warden had discovered Sant olno olne held this thought in abeyance lie he would see ce later how it checked clicc ked with the facts katon enton had remained in seattle or near seattle eleven cleven lays days apparently and to escape attack during that time he had find been able to conceal himself lie ile had been obliged however to reveal himself when he took tile train and as soon as possible a des desperate attempt had find been made against him which through mistake had struck down Sant Santol olne nc instead of eaton eaton had taken tho the train at seattle because san garit olne was on it lie ho I 1 had ahna done this at gr great eat risk to himself tho the possibilities were that eaton had taken the train to inform san tolne colne of something or to learn come thing from him but eaton had had amplo ample opportunity since to inform Sant olne of anything he wished and ho he had not only not informed him of adyth anything frig but had refused consistently and determinedly to answer any of Santol nea questions it was to learn something from Sant olne then that eaton had bad taken the train tho the blind man turned upon hla his bed lie was finding that events fitted together perfectly ile he felt certain now that eaton baton had bad gone to gabriel warden expecting to get from warden some come information that he be needed sad and that to drevant wardens wardena karim alalu alvi title this warden had been killed then wardens death find caused Stint olne to go to seattle and take charge or of many of wardens affairs enton eaton had thought that the information which find been in wardens possession might light now bo be in San enton eaton therefore had find followed Sant olne onto the train tile inference was plain that something which would have riven given san folau thi information warden had had find and which enton eaton now required had been brought into San Santol nos house find and put lit in safo it was vm to kot got possession of tills something before it lint lind reached Sant olno alint tile eife had find been forced Sant olne put out tits his hand find pressed a hell bell A servant ervant fc camo came to tilt the door will you find ails Sant olne 11 the blind roan directed and ask her to come 1101 hero 07 tile servant withdrew Sant olno presently the door again opened and lie ho heard illi his daughters step llave you listed what was taken from the safe harriet Sant olne asked not yet father tho the blind man thought in fin instant Itar harriot riot something ling tits been brought into the house or the of keeping son something lothIng in tho house litto has been changed within a very few days since olnee the time I 1 think when the attempt to run enton iowa down with tho the motor car waa made what was waa that something ills daughter reflected the draft of the now new agreement about the latron properties ond tho the allsta of stockholders in tho the properties which came through sir mr wardens billec oil aho ro re plied piled those choso were in tho the safe yes you hall had not given me any instructions about them so I 1 had put them in fit the other safe but when I 1 went to get tho the correspondence I 1 saw them thero there and put them with tho the correspondence in my own safe lay still who besides donald know knew that you did that daughter ito ho asked no one thank you harriet recognized this as dismissal dismiss ill find went out the blind man mail felt tile blood beating fler fiercely cely in tits ills temples find fit at his file linger longcr tipa it amazed ns la 11 I 1 have you listed what was taken from the safe harriet Sant olne asked founded him to realize that wardens murder and nil fill that hall had followed it had sprung front from the latron case lie ile recollected recollect e 1 I that ho he had find been vaguely conscious ever since Lat lations rons murder of something strained something not wholly open in ills his relations with those men whose interests had find been most closely allied with Lat latrona roua it had been nothing open nothing palpable it was ns only that he ha had felt at times in them a knowledge of some general condition governing them which was wag not wholly known to himself whoever blatchford had seen been was someone well known to him whose presence had been so amazing that speech had failed blatchford Blatch fora for the moment and ho he had feared the effect of the finno announcement on san dolne tolne this could have hao been only tile lie principal himself some circumstance which Sant olno coin comprehended ended only imperfectly as sel ye had forced this manto dmn to conic come out from behind be hind his agents and to net act even at tile the risk of revealing himself it was probably he who presence made inevitable had killed blatchford but these dr cir cum culus stances gave Sant olno olne no clew ns to who the man might be tho the blind man tried vainly to guess tile the only circumstance regarding the mail of which now felt sure was that lie he was one of the many concerned in the latron case or with the antron properties want time Is it the blind man suddenly asked the nurse it la Is nearly noon sir Sant Santo olne inc 11 will you leave mo me alone for a few moments moment sV he directed lie ile listened till ho he heard tile the door close behind the nurse then ho he seized tile the private phone beside his bed und and called his broker illow how la Is the mar market ketr he inquired there was something approaching to a pink panic on the stock exchange it some movement arising from balses not yet clear had dropped the bottom out of a score of important stocks now la Is pacific midlands san totne asked it led the decline Sant olne felt the mood blood in hit temples 31 and N Sm shelters smelters elters ho hn a asked k ed down DOWD daten polska tv IS 8 F and dr eight points off San hand holding tile hie telephone shook in its agitation tits hla head was liot hot from the blood rushing ius through it tits ills body wag chilled an iden so strange so astounding so incredible as it first lind had come to him that his feelings refused it though his reason told him blin it was the only possible condition which could account for nil all tile tho facts now was being made all |
